Footballer who lost father to suicide backs new research

Launch of most in-depth study of its kind in UK focused on men

Dundee-born football star Charlie Adam has backed new research into what drives men to commit suicide, six years after his father took his own life.

The Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH), which is a partner of the SPFL, is launching a new PhD scholarship at Glasgow University that aims to discover what leads some men to kill themselves.

Working with the university’s Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab, it is expected to deliver ground-breaking research focusing specifically on men to understand suicide risk.

Suicide is the leading cause of death in young and middle-aged men in most Western countries, including the UK.

Scotland and Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam, 32, lost his dad, Charlie Snr to suicide.

Charlie Snr was also a footballer. He took his own life in December 2012.

Now a SAMH supporter, his son welcomed the research. Charlie said: “It was a real blow to me losing my dad. It knocked me big time.

“It’s great that this research will look to understand suicide risk in men. It’s a subject that’s close to my heart.”

Believed to be the most in-depth study of its kind in UK, it is fully funded by SAMH.

SAMH chief executive Billy Watson said: “We need a deeper understanding of why some risk factors contribute to men completing suicide, compared with those, who, with the same risks factors, don’t.”

Professor Rory O’Connor, director of the suicidal behaviour research lab, said there is still limited understanding about the “factors” which lead to suicide.

Meanwhile, a postgraduate Dundee University student, Charlotte Starkey, has said public figures discussing their own mental health issues may make more men willing to speak about their own. Charlotte will be discussing her research on how male gender influences thoughts of suicide at the university’s Scrymgeour Building on Thursday.

Charlie Adam lost his father to suicide in December 2012.